Echinacea plant named ‘Coral Craze’

ABSTRACT

The new and distinct cultivar of Echinacea plant named ‘Coral Craze’, with fragrant flowers on strong stems having coral pink ray florets that mature to lavender-pink with large orange center cone and near black stems; The flowers from mid-summer to late summer, and is suitable as a potted plant, for the landscape, and for cut flower arrangements.

Botanical denomination: Echinacea hybrid.

Cultivar designation: ‘Coral Craze’.

STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES UNDER 37 CFR 1.77(B)(6)

The first public disclosure of the claimed plant, in the form of aphotograph and brief description on a website operated by WaltersGardens, Inc. on Feb. 1, 2018. The claimed plant was first sold on Jun.18, 2018 by Walters Gardens, Inc., who obtained the plant and allinformation relating thereto, from the inventor. No plants of Echinacea‘Coral Craze’ have been sold in this country or anywhere in the world,nor has any disclosure of the new plant been made, more than one yearprior to the filing date of this application, and such sale ordisclosure within one year was either derived directly or indirectlyfrom the inventor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the new and distinct cultivar ofConeflower from the genus Echinacea and given the cultivar name ‘CoralCraze’. The new plant was the result of a self-pollination by theinventor of an unnamed proprietary hybrid known as 12-2-1 on Jun. 23,2014 at a wholesale perennial nursery in Zeeland, Mich. This seedlingwas evaluated first in trials in the summer of 2016 at the same nurseryand assigned the breeder code of 14-4-2. Echinacea ‘Coral Craze’ hasbeen asexually propagated at the same nursery by crown division since2016 and also using careful shoot tip tissue culture procedures andfound to reproduce plants that exhibit all the characteristics identicalto the original plant.

Echinacea ‘Coral Craze’ is distinct from all other Coneflowers known tothe inventor. The nearest comparison cultivars are ‘Kim's Knee High’U.S. Plant Pat. No. 12,242, ‘Red Knee High’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 20,411,‘Glowing Dream’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 24,329, ‘Solar Flare’ U.S. PlantPat. No. 22,133, ‘Little Annie’ (not patented) and ‘Delicious Candy’(not patented). The parent plant, 12-2-1, has more upright, denserflower stems with smaller foliage and smaller flower heads. ‘Kim's KneeHigh’ has lighter pink ray petals on slightly shorter stems, and the raypetals are smaller and droop more than the new plant when young. ‘RedKnee High’ is slightly shorter in habit and has rich magenta ray flowersthat droop significantly more than the new plant. ‘Glowing Dream’ hasray flowers that are watermelon pink on slightly smaller plants. ‘SolarFlare’ produces wider flower heads and has ray flowers that are moremagenta-orange on taller plants. ‘Little Annie’ is shorter in habit, theflower heads are smaller and the ray flowers are lighter magenta.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Echinacea ‘Coral Craze’ has not been evaluated under all possibleenvironmental conditions. The phenotype may vary with variations inenvironment including: growing temperature, available sunlight,nutrients, water, etc. without a change in the genotype of the plant.The new plant is distinct from its parents and all other Echinacea knownto the applicant in the following combined traits:

-   -   1. Fragrant flowers on strong near black stems.    -   2. Large, broad flower heads.    -   3. Ray petals of coral-pink mature to lavender-pink.    -   4. Vigorous growth and excellent habit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The photographs of the new invention demonstrate the overall appearanceof the plant including the unique traits. The drawings of the new plantare of a two-year-old plant grown in full-sun trial garden in Zeeland,Mich. The colors are as accurate as reasonably possible with colorreproductions. Some slight variation of color may occur as a result oflighting quality, intensity, wavelength, direction or reflection.

FIG. 1 shows the habit of the new plant in flower.

FIG. 2 shows a close up of a flower of the new plant.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PLANT

The following description of Echinacea ‘Coral Craze’ is based onobservations of two-year-old specimens grown in a full-sun trial gardenwith supplemental water and fertilizer in Zeeland, Mich. The new planthas not been tested in all environments and some phenotypic differencesmay occur with different environments without, however, any change ingenotype. The color descriptions are based on the 2015 edition of TheRoyal Horticultural Society Colour Chart except where common dictionarydescriptions are used.

-   Parentage: Female and male parent is the proprietary unreleased    hybrid 12-2-1, which is a selection of a self-pollinated seedling    from a cross of ‘Little Annie’ times ‘Solar Flare’;-   Plant habit: Multi-stemmed, freely-branched, hardy herbaceous    perennial, flowering to about 70 cm tall and 65 cm wide;-   Growth rate: Vigorous, finishing in 4 liter containers in about 2    months during the summer;-   Roots: Cream-colored, finely branched;-   Foliage: Alternate; ovate; acute apex; attenuate base; margin    entire; hirsutulous both surfaces; to about 22.5 cm long and 10.0 cm    wide decreasing distally, average about 12.0 cm long and 5.0 cm    wide;-   Leaf color: Adaxial between RHS 136A and RHS 139A, abaxial nearest    RHS 138A;-   Venation: Pinnate; with two major arcuate veins on both sides of the    midrib; abaxial midrib and veins costate;-   Vein color: Abaxial midrib and secondary veins nearest RHS 145D,    adaxial midrib and secondary veins between RHS 145D and RHS 138D;-   Petiole: Hirtellous, concavo-convex, about 8.0 cm long and 2.5 mm    wide on lowest leaves and decreasing to sessile distally; color    nearest RHS 145D adaxial and abaxial;-   Peduncle: Hirsutulous; cylindrical; average 18.0 cm long and 8.5 mm    diameter; quantity per plant about ten;-   Peduncle color: Nearest RHS 187A;-   Pedicel: Hirsutulous, cylindrical; average 10.0 cm long and 6.0 mm    diameter;-   Pedicel color: Nearest RHS 187A;-   Inflorescence: Bracteate head, aggregate of achene; with distinct    ligulate ray florets and disk florets in a pappus; flowering    mid-summer to late summer; initial flowers largest, to about 12.7 cm    wide, average about 10.0 cm diameter with cones 4.5 cm across and    4.0 cm tall; approximately 8 flowers per peduncle; sweetly fragrant;-   Flower persistence: Remaining affective in color for 10 to 14 days    depending on temperatures, cone drying on plant and effective into    winter;-   Involucre: With numerous bracts, about 48 per flower; arcuate    downward toward pedicle;-   Involucre bracts: Lanceolate; narrowly acute apex; truncate base;    entire margin; average about 12.0 mm long and 3.5 mm across; color    nearest RHS 139A on adaxial and abaxial margin, nearest RHS 146B in    adaxial and abaxial center;-   Flower buds with ray florets vertical: About 20.0 mm across and 20.0    mm tall; ray floret color nearest RHS 186C with apices nearest RHS    147A, cone color nearest RHS 187A;-   Ray florets: Petals arrangement in single whorl, frequently    imbricate; lanceolate, apex emarginated, base attenuate; margin    entire; 24 to 28 per flower; opening to horizontal, drooping up to    only 15 degrees below horizontal; to 4.8 cm long and 12.0 mm wide,    average size 3.8 cm long, 9.5 cm wide at center tapering to 2 mm    wide at base; thickened midrib raised;-   Disc florets: About 400 to 600 per head; in raised dome, about 4.5    cm across and 4.0 cm tall; outer florets about 8.0 mm long and 2.0    mm wide, central florets about 11.0 mm long and 2.0 mm wide; RHS    143C near base of corolla tube and RHS 167B near apex of petal;-   Disk floret androecium:-   Staminal column: About 1 mm wide and protrudes from corolla tube    about 2 mm; five fused stamens; color nearest RHS 169C;-   Filaments: Five; attached to column; thin, less than 0.2 mm diameter    and 1.5 mm long; color nearest RHS 158D;-   Pollen: Globose, less 0.1 mm in diameter, RHS 178A;-   Fruit: Achene; about 4 mm long and 2 mm wide; between RHS 199A and    RHS 199B;-   Disease resistance: Resistance beyond that of other hardy Coneflower    cultivars has not been observed. The plant grows best with plenty of    moisture and adequate drainage, but is able to tolerate some drought    when mature. Hardiness at least from USDA zone 4 through 8.

I claim:
 1. A new and distinct cultivar of Echinacea plant named ‘CoralCraze’ as herein described and illustrated.